All Japan-related oil tankers transited out of Strait of Hormuz

Photo taken on June 3, 2026, shows the Eneos Endeavor, an oil tanker operated by Eneos Corp., arriving at the oil distributor's Kiire crude oil reserve terminal in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan. It is the second oil tanker to arrive in Japan via the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war erupted in late February. (Kyodo)

Photo taken from Tahara in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, shows the Idemitsu Maru (R), an oil tanker operated by a unit of major Japanese petroleum company Idemitsu Kosan Co., sailing toward Ise Bay on May 25, 2026, after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in late April. It is the first oil tanker to arrive in Japan having passed through the strait since the Iran war erupted and left traffic through the vital energy route heavily restricted. (Kyodo)

TOKYO - All Japan-related crude oil tankers that had been caught up in Middle East tensions have transited the Strait of Hormuz and left the Persian Gulf, a source close to the matter said Tuesday, while four other Japan-linked vessels remain stranded in the gulf.

Data from global ship-tracking website MarineTraffic and other sources show the oil tankers, including ones operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., appear to have cleared the strait by Tuesday, with some headed for Japan.

Tensions over the strait, a critical shipping lane for the world's oil and gas supplies, remain heightened.

After Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Sunday that it had closed the strait again, U.S. President Donald Trump said the next day the United States would resume a maritime blockade of Iran and that his country should be reimbursed at a rate equivalent to 20 percent of all cargo shipped for serving as the "guardian" of the waterway.

In Tokyo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yasushi Kaneko told a press conference on Tuesday, "We place the utmost priority on restoring free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and are closely monitoring related movements with great concern."

Japan-related vessels include Japanese-flagged ships, as well as foreign-flagged ships that are either carrying Japanese nationals, operated by Japanese shipping businesses, or transporting Japanese cargoes that are important for the stable economic activities of the Japanese public, according to the Defense Ministry.

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